The present invention relates generally to recreational sporting goods and, more particularly, to runnerless, flexible fabric-coated sleds.
Children have long enjoyed sliding down snow and ice-covered hills on a variety of vehicle types. The most traditional example of such a vehicle is the conventional sled featuring a wooden frame and steerable metal runners. Such sleds, however, are only useful on slopes covered with snow that has been firmly packed. These traditional sleds are relatively expensive and are bulky and heavy which makes them difficult to pull or carry up hills.
Lighter weight, runnerless sleds, such as toboggans, are also commonly used. Toboggans are long, flat-bottomed sleds made of thin boards curled at the front end. Toboggans overcome some of the problems of runnered sleds, but they are still relatively heavy, bulky and expensive. The prior art, however, features a number of additional runnerless sled variations.
Lightweight, saucer-shaped coaster sleds (such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,493,315 and 2,971,767) are made of rigid plastic or metal and perform admirably as sleds. Other sleds take the form of tub-shapes also made of rigid plastic or metal as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,870. While such designs are relatively lightweight and inexpensive, they are still bulky. As a result, such sleds are difficult to carry up snow-covered hills and are inconvenient to stow, for example, in an automobile or a garage. Furthermore, metal versions of the sleds are prone to denting, while the thinner plastic versions are prone to splitting or rupturing when overly and excessively flexed.
The top surfaces of the saucer and tub-shaped sleds are hard and smooth. Such a surface is difficult for a rider to maintain contact with and is uncomfortable as the shock from bumps and the like are transmitted directly to the rider. While cushions have been developed for use on such sleds, as well as toboggans, they have to be tied on with string-like loops that frequently come loose.
The addition of handles to these saucer and tub-shaped style sleds presents yet another problem in that the handles are attached by punching slots into the body of the sled and feeding a rope or similar material through the slots. Due to the single layer construction of this type of sled, the handle ends protrude along the bottom of the sled which corrupts the bottom surface profile of the sled and results in additional drag which, in turn, degrades downhill speed.
Other runnerless sleds involve a carpet-like sheet of relatively thin and flexible plastic, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,048. Although these inexpensive devices are lightweight and pliable for easy transport, their thinness does not provide a firm and smooth ground contact surface. Furthermore, the rider is not cushioned at all from the surface irregularities of the hill, which may create an uncomfortable ride.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a lightweight and compact sled which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art.
Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible sled that provides improved performance and has a cushion formed within the sled to provide a comfortable ride.
Another object of the invention is to provide a fabric-covered sled of composite construction that is economical to manufacture.